John Wilcox (born 16 August 1940) is a former English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er and headmaster.

Cricket career

Wilcox was born in

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the So ...

. After attending Alleyn Court Prep School and Malvern College, he went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge. A right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm off-break bowler, he began his

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

career with

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

in 1961, his debut coming against

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He played eleven further first-class matches for Cambridge until the end of 1962, but he did not win a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

for cricket. He did, however, win blues for

rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

and real tennis. Wilcox made his debut County Championship appearance for

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

in 1964, six years after his debut in the Minor Counties Championship for the Essex Second XI. Wilcox's first appearance, against

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, finished in an innings defeat. Towards the end of the 1964 season, he scored 46 not out in a game against the touring

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

that Essex won. Essex finished the 1964 season in tenth place, an improvement on the previous year's performance. Wilcox scored 367 runs in 10 matches at an average of 36.70, with three fifties. Wilcox made his highest score in May 1965 when, going in to bat against

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

with Essex at 154 for 6, he added 139 for the seventh wicket with

Trevor Bailey Trevor Edward Bailey (3 December 1923 – 10 February 2011) was an England Test cricketer, cricket writer and broadcaster. An all-rounder, Bailey was known for his skilful but unspectacular batting. As the BBC reflected in his obituary: "Hi ...

and finished with 87. Essex won by 48 runs. Nevertheless he made only four Championship appearances that season, finding himself out of the team after a second-innings

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

against

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, and he did not appear in the County Championship again until August 1967, when he played his last four matches. Wilcox's father Denys played first-class cricket for Essex for nearly 20 years, captaining the team for six years before the Second World War.

Later career

Wilcox played for Essex only when his duties as a schoolmaster allowed. He taught at Alleyn Court Prep School in

Westcliff-on-Sea Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff) is an inner city area of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north shore of the lower Thames Estuary, about 34 ...

, which his grandfather had founded in 1904, and where his father had been headmaster. John also became headmaster of Alleyn Court, serving in that position from 1968 to 1990. He was then the chairman of the school board for 20 years, and remains on the school's board of trustees. In 2005 he wrote the school's centenary history, ''Impressions of a Family School: 100 Years of Alleyn Court''. After he retired from teaching in 1990 he founded the Court Gallery in West Quantoxhead,

. The gallery specialises in British and French art from 1880 onwards.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, John 1940 births Living people People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge English cricketers Essex cricketers Cambridge University cricketers People from Newton Abbot Schoolteachers from Devon Cricketers from Devon